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#FrenchLiterature
review
Taylor
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Pickpick

Phenomenal ending to an unreal work.

Mind-bendy, ultra-reflective and fascinating, feels like something written in the future.... Pretty often I'd say to myself "Yeah this is wild stuff," especially in the second half. Somehow he managed to end this thing without letting me down at all. I love it.

11 likes1 stack add
quote
Taylor

It seems now therefore that there is no humiliation so great that one should not put up with it easily, in the knowledge that after a few years our buried faults will be no more than an invisible dust over which will smile the smiling and blossoming peace of nature.

review
oddandbookish
Madame Bovary | Gustave Flaubert, Eleanor Marx-Aveling, Alex Struik
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Pickpick

What a tragic yet captivating tale!

I added this book to my “To Read” shelf on Goodreads way back in March of 2015. Now 9 years later I finally read it and I‘m so glad I did.

There is nothing happy about this story, but it‘s beautiful and intriguing in its own way. Immediately upon starting, I was pulled right into the story.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2024/03/26/review-madame-bovary/

53 likes1 comment
blurb
merelybookish
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I'M DONE!! 🎉🎉 After 15 months, I wrapped up #morningswithmarcel.
It was a journey and there were some rough spots, but overall, I loved it. Brilliant! 🌸💗🌸

AlaMich Which translation did you read? I haven‘t read Proust but I read a very interesting collection of essays by one of his translators, Lydia Davis. She described in great detail her process and the problems that came up while translating him. It was fascinating. (edited) 2mo
sarahbarnes Wow!!!! That is amazing. Congratulations - that has to feel like such an accomplishment! 2mo
merelybookish @AlaMich I did the Modern Penguin Library edition. Each volume has a different translator but Lydia Davis did the first one. I can imagine he's challenging to translate! His vocabulary is rich! (I googled so many words!) But there's a lot of word play and he notices when people use idiom or local dialects. 2mo
See All 26 Comments
squirrelbrain Well done! 🎉🎉🎉 2mo
Librarybelle Congratulations! 2mo
batsy Amazing! 🙌🏾 Someday I hope to get there 💫 2mo
BarbaraBB Wow, you did that pretty fast! Glad you loved it and kudos for finishing 🏆🤍 2mo
julieclair Congrats! That's an achievement! 🏆🎉 2mo
Ruthiella Congratulations! 👏👏👏 1mo
dabbe Yowza! 🤩🤩🤩 1mo
Cuilin Congratulations 🎊🎉🎈 impressive. 1mo
Billypar Oh my 😮 ...nice job! I always think maybe I'll read the first volume someday but never imagined reading them all. 1mo
LeahBergen Woohoo!! 🥳 1mo
jlhammar Impressive! 1mo
Tamra Amazing! 👏🏾 1mo
MaureenMc 👏🎊👏 1mo
Leftcoastzen Kudos! 1mo
merelybookish @Ruthiella @dabbe @Cuilin Thank you!!! I figured you guys would understand! 😊 1mo
merelybookish @Billypar if you read the first one, you might want to keep going! 1mo
Centique You are truly a legend! 1mo
Suet624 That's amazing. Such dedication! 1mo
vivastory 🤘 🤘 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 3w
merelybookish @vivastory thanks Scott. I feel like when I saw you in December I was at a low point. But I managed to get through it. 3w
vivastory I will attempt it at some point in the future, but have no idea if I'll make it through. I'd like to read at least the first couple. Do you have any more big projects on the horizon? 3w
merelybookish @vivastory Not really. I am reading Woolf's diaries again. There's Zola 20 book series but not quite ready to commit to that. 😂😱 3w
71 likes26 comments
review
Taylor
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Pickpick

I loved it, but I had to read it like a possessed person to get through it.... Actually that‘s how it has been for me with all of Proust.

As usual with these editions, the translator's intro in the beginning is excellent.

Some of this installment is like a fever dream; a new type of Proust. Fantasies and dreams and memories flood the reader. The prose is incredible as always, the observations revelatory. I also gasped audibly at one part.

blurb
shawnmooney
Bibliomania | Gustave Flaubert
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https://youtu.be/bGdWGu6b7EI?si=Sn-vC32STj45ewi3

Do you suffer from bibliomania? John W. Doull does — and his Dartmouth bookstore proves it - by Andrew Sampson on the CBC News website: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/john-w-doull-bookseller-profile-1.691...

YouTube video: A Walk Through John W. Doull Books: https://youtu.be/RImOoqcRDKA?si=DnHwNiFxOrp6frnk

Leftcoastzen I would probably want something near the bottom of the teetering stacks on the floor ! Possibly leading me to accidentally knocking it over and owner would kick me out!📚📚📚📚📚😄 2mo
24 likes1 comment
quote
Taylor

For old age removes the ability to act, but not to desire. It is only in a third phase that those who live to a great age renounce desire, after being obliged to abandon action. They no longer stand for such petty elections as that of President of the Republic, where they so often formerly strove to succeed. They are content merely to go out, to eat, and to read the newspapers. They have outlived themselves.

blurb
Taylor

I‘m halfway through this!

Really liking it so far. It‘s somewhat easy to follow and, like the previous volume, not crammed with characters to keep track of.

I can‘t believe I‘ve come this far in Proust…. The prose is filled with revelations (which I‘ve grown used to but is still heavily impressive), and I‘m fully in his world. I‘m reading this like a person possessed.

review
BarbaraBB
A frozen woman | Annie Ernaux
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Panpan

A frozen woman: frozen in time and in life. A life that consists of being a mother and a wife. No longer a woman, nor a professional. I loved Ernaux‘ The Young Man but this autobiographical story of her life is rather boring in my opinion. Her childhood, teens, meeting her future husband, it‘s all very recognizable but not that interesting.
Also the nagging about motherhood annoys me for she‘s enduring it without trying to improve her situation.

squirrelbrain Great review though! 😃 3mo
See All 14 Comments
BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain Thank you 😘 3mo
Librarybelle Yikes! That‘s a shame! 3mo
Ruthiella Ah well. I‘ve never read any Erneaux but when I do, I‘ll start with a different one. 3mo
Suet624 Did she win the Nobel prize for this book? 3mo
Hooked_on_books Oh no, a pan for Ernaux! It cannot be! I loved this one, but she definitely has a particular way of telling a story that won‘t work for everyone. 3mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3mo
dabbe #hailthebail! 🩶🖤🩶 3mo
BarbaraBB @Suet624 no it was published in 1981. 3mo
BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books I was surprised too, I thought I would love it 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3mo
batsy A pan for Ernaux! 😱😁 I haven't heard of this one, actually! 3mo
BarbaraBB @batsy I was shocked too, convinced I‘d love it! 3mo
71 likes14 comments
blurb
BarbaraBB
A frozen woman | Annie Ernaux
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#WeeklyForecast 06/23

I am almost finished with The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store for #LitsyToB24 and fortunately I am liking it a lot! Next will be another Annie Ernaux. I discovered her last year and loved the book I read by her. For #ReadingOceania24 and #FoodAndLit I‘ll read Pet, of which I have read so many good reviews.

squirrelbrain Ooh, forgot that Pet would work for #readingoceania. 👍 3mo
CatLass007 I‘m glad you‘re enjoying it. I thought it was excellent. 3mo
Megabooks I really want to read Pet! 3mo
See All 14 Comments
Megabooks Looking forward to your review! 3mo
Suet624 Ernaux is 🔥 3mo
BarbaraBB @Suet624 she is but somehow this one doesn‘t work for me 🤷🏻‍♀️ 3mo
Suet624 Is it too much like her other ones? I started to feel as if she was reworking the same subject matter as I read more of her. 3mo
Sapphire I just decided on Pet for foodandlit on your post. Luminaries was probably too long. 3mo
BarbaraBB @Sapphire It is very long but do read it one day, it‘s sooooo good! 3mo
BarbaraBB @Suet624 She‘s talking is through her life and yes I feel that I know that already and even though I recognize a lot of myself in her, it is a bit boring to be honest. It‘s not a very eventful life 😀 3mo
Suet624 I think that‘s why I like her - I recognize myself. But yes, sometimes what I recognize is not what I want to be reminded of. 🥴😊 3mo
BarbaraBB @Megabooks Don‘t buy it 😉😘 3mo
Megabooks I won‘t then!! 😁😁😁💜💜 3mo
BarbaraBB @Megabooks 😇❤️ 3mo
80 likes14 comments